A Guide to Social Media Etiquette

What is Social Media Etiquette?

So, you’ve decided to focus more on social media, but you’re slowly starting to realize how totally different every platform is. What might work on Facebook may completely fail on Twitter and Instagram, and vice versa. That said, it’s important to know how to act on each of the “Big Three” social media platforms before you scare potential customers away. While these unwritten rules are endless and change constantly, we’ve rounded up a few of our favorite, tried-and-true social media etiquette tips for you.

Facebook

Keep it short. Facebook is more visual than it seems, therefore, photos always do better than text alone. Make sure your text is short, sweet and to the point.

Don’t over post. Since Facebook’s algorithm does not display posts in chronological order, there is a good chance all your posts might be bunched up on someone’s feed even if they were posted hours apart. This can be annoying and may drive people to unlike your page, so make sure you’re only posting 1-2 times per day at most.

Be conversational. Offer your customers relevant links, offers, promos and news and be conversational in the comments. Keeping the conversation going helps your engagement rates AND shows off your amazing customer service skills, so do whatever you can to keep them talking.

Always respond. If you ignore the messages in your inbox and never reply to any comments, people are going to stop engaging with you. Make sure you spend a little time – even 10 minutes – a day checking your inboxes and notifications.

Twitter

Be social and informal. Think of Twitter as one huge conversation. It’s not a monologue. Instead, social media etiquette says Twitter is a place to show off your humor, wit and silly side that you can’t show on Facebook or Instagram.

Ask questions. This doesn’t just mean in your own feed. Answer questions on other people’s pages! If someone tweets at you telling you how much they like your cupcakes, ask them what their favorite flavor is or when the last time they came in your bakery was.

Answer questions. Conversations are a two-way street. Don’t just limit yourself to your own feed. Go check out other pages relevant to your business and engage with them.

Over post. Twitter is extremely fast-paced, so feel free to go nuts here. Go as crazy as you’d like replying to other accounts, but when it comes to your own timeline, don’t post much more than 15-20 tweets per day.

Instagram

Take advantage of literally everything. A true Instagram expert uses everything possible. So, use those geotags, product tags, hashtags, long captions and fun filters. The more you use, the more reach you’ll get!

Use hashtags mindfully. You have the ability to use 30 hashtags on every Instagram post, so take advantage of that. That doesn’t mean #writing #your #captions #like #this, but rather, allowing for a space at the bottom of your photo’s caption or in the comments. When choosing hashtags, use ones that are most relevant for your business and the photo you are posting. Think of hashtags as a filing system, and think of what folders you’d like to file that photo under.

Ask for permission. User-generated content (UGC) is extremely popular on Instagram. However, social media etiquette says that just because someone posts a photo you like, it doesn’t mean it’s fair game for you to grab – even if it has your product in it! Make sure you always ask for permission before reposting someone else’s photo on your page, especially if there are people’s faces or children in it.

Don’t buy followers or bots. There’s nothing worse than a “Great content! Keep it up!” comment on an Instagram post that is so clearly from a bot. As tempting as it may be, don’t buy followers or bots. It doesn’t look very good if you have 10,000 followers but only 20 likes on your photos, or if you’re spamming other accounts. Gain your followers in a relevant way – social media is a marathon, not a sprint. If you need help, just let us know!

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Armed with over 10 years of experience in digital marketing, Jaclyn Uloth started her career at a full-service digital marketing firm for five years, guiding many websites to completion as well as developing and executing sophisticated marketing strategies for countless brands. More recently, she was in charge of digital, social media, and paid advertising efforts for well-known multinational franchise operations. Currently, she is using her years of experience and writing abilities to write marketing copy and blogs to boost the online presence of the brands she works with.

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